UCF Loses Tough Matchup to No. 12 Cincinnati: Offensive woes continue

ORLANDO, Fla.- UCF loses a tough game to the Cincinnati Bearcats, 38 to 49. Both teams struggled to score the ball, shooting a combined 33% from the field.

“It was hard physical game tonight, I think both teams hang their head on defense. They made a few more plays then we made in both half. In the second half we felt Clarks presence,” Coach Dawkins said on tonight’s matchup. Clark finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

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B.J Taylor made his return tonight. He will be slowly making his way back, tonight he only played 21 minutes. He was 3-7 from the field, finishing with 6 points. Although the offense only scored 38 points, it looked much more fluent with B.J. on the floor.

“It was good seeing B.J. on the floor, I know he was excited, we were too. He is not where he is going to be in 2 weeks. It’s about him getting his wind back, his timing right. I thought he settled us down a couple times when we subbed him in, I would of liked to have kept him out there a couple of times, but you can’t do it,” Dawkins said about B. J’s return.

Coach Dawkins played a lot of interesting lineups tonight. He played a lot of minutes with both of UCF’s point guards on the floor. Terrell Allen played all but 1-minute tonight, so obviously when B.J. was on the floor his backcourt teammate was Terrell.

“Terrell has been terrific for us this season, what it has shown is they can both be in there together. I think it’s a good combination for us, I think it makes us more dynamic. We have to players that can penetrate and make plays for us,” Coach Dawkins said about his two-guard lineup.

UCF continues to play well defensively. They held Cincinnati to 35% shooting, and a dismal 25% from deep. Don’t get too down on this team, they have been fighting injuries all season and are still trying to find a rhythm.

“The offense is going to come for us, teams don’t win in March from offense they win from defense. As long as we keep our defense where it is our offense is going to get where it needs to be,” B.J. Taylor spoke to the effectiveness of their defense.

UCF’s next opponent is USF on Saturday in Tampa. USF is struggling so far this season, with a record of 7-11 (0-5 in AAC play). This will be a good chance for the Knights to get a victory while B.J. is still playing limited minutes.